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Breen
This article is about the Breen species. For information on the Breen homeworld, see Breen (planet). Gor, representative of the Breen Confederacy (2375).]] The Breen are a reclusive, powerful, and warlike humanoid race, native to the planet Breen in the Alpha Quadrant. History and Politics Shrouded in mystery, the Breen have been discovered to be one of the most underestimated races inhabiting the Alpha Quadrant. From what is known, their reputation can be summed up in a Romulan saying: "Never turn your back on a Breen". ( ) Historically, the Klingons were among the first to discover the consequences of underestimating the Breen. During the Klingon Second Empire, Chancellor Mow'ga ordered an entire fleet of Klingon warships to invade and conquer the Breen homeworld. The fleet never returned and was never heard from again. ( ) :While the size of the Klingon fleet is unknown, it can be assumed that it consisted of a large number of ships, due to the fact the Chancellor intended on invading deep into Breen space and conquering the Breen home planet. This shows that the Breen were a force to be reckoned with long before the 24th century. Even by the 24th century, much was still unknown about the Breen and their otherwise politically nonaligned government, known as the Breen Confederacy. The Federation, however, had limited knowledge of the Breen and were aware of Breen outposts located near a black cluster in 2368. In 2370, the Breen participated in a palio held at Deep Space 3, during which the Ferengi attempted to bribe the Breen pilot into throwing the race. In 2373, the Breen settlements on Portas V near the Demilitarized Zone dealt with the Maquis, supplying them with cold-storage units. It was noted by Ezri Dax in 2375, when captured by the Breen on a planet in the Goralis system, that they were a long way from Breen space. ( ; ) Other species like the Ferengi had developed closer ties with the Breen by the late 24th century, as both species conducted trade negotiations in 2373. ( ) Breen privateers during the 24th century would often conduct indiscriminate raids against other Alpha Quadrant species. This includes the Breen attack and capture of the Cardassian transport Ravinok in 2366. The survivors of that attack were used for slave labor in the Breen operated dilithium mines on Dozaria. ( ) In 2368, Starfleet feared the Breen might have attacked the science vessel [[SS Vico|SS Vico]]. Breen privateers also raided the Bajoran colony of Free Haven in 2372; they were, however, successfully driven away by the [[USS Defiant (NX-74205)|USS Defiant]]. ( ; ) Alliance with the Dominion In 2375, the Breen moved from a policy of low-level hostilities toward other major powers to one of open warfare when they allied themselves to the Dominion. They were then allowed access to the Dominion military database. According to the terms of the alliance, the Breen Confederacy received several planets in the Cardassian Union as compensation for joining the war. ( ) :The Breen may have been influenced to join the Dominion from a Changeling impersonator in the Confederacy's government, as an unidentified Breen was seen in Internment Camp 371, where several people replaced by Changelings were placed. Shortly after joining with the Dominion, the Breen attacked Starfleet Headquarters on Earth in the raid on San Francisco. A short time later they assisted the Dominion forces in breaking the lines at Chin'toka. Under orders from the Female Changeling they allowed the escape pods to carry the Federation survivors to safety. This major battle, known as the Second Battle of Chin'toka, was won by the Dominion thanks to a unique Breen weapon, a form of energy dampening weapon system which could completely drain all the main power systems of a starship. Both of these defeats dealt a huge blow to the Allies' morale. The only ship immune to the Breen weapon was a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which serendipitously survived thanks to an adjustment the main engineer had made to the ship's tritium intermix in the warp core. ( ) Although the Klingon fleet was able to make the needed adjustments against the weapon, the Federation and the Romulans were still unable to defend against the Breen. When the Federation finally did create a defense against the energy-dampening weapon, they would force the Dominion fleet to retreat. Breen Thot Pran expressed an extreme distaste of surrender, and would require the reassurance of the female changeling that they were not surrendering, but instead regrouping and attempting to redouble their shipbuilding and replenishment efforts. ( ) With the necessary counter measures to the Breen's energy dampening weapon obtained, the Federation Alliance was able to go on the offensive once again, choosing to invade Cardassia Prime itself. In hopes of boosting the Breen's will to fight, the Female Changeling offered them control of Earth and Romulus if they succeeded in winning the battle. During the Battle of Cardassia, the Breen were still able to inflict major casualties on the allies, even without the use of their energy dampening weapon. Up to a third of the entire allies' fleet was destroyed during the battle, including the Romulan flag ship. The Breen continued to fight with the Dominion until the end, demonstrating a willingness to die for the cause that matched that of the Jem'Hadar. However, when the Cardassian forces switched sides mid-battle, the Dominion and Breen were forced to withdraw to Cardassia Prime. After Odo convinced the Female Changeling to surrender, the Dominion War ended. As a member of the Dominion, the Breen leaders were present during the Treaty of Bajor. ( ) Physiology Breen physiology is among the most exotic for humanoid lifeforms, which may be due, in part, to their homeworld's climate. The Breen have no blood or other liquid circulatory system. The Breen brain is structured into four lobes; this protects them from the probing of some empathic species, such as the Betazoids, who are unable to detect the thoughts or emotions of the Breen. ( ; ) The Breen body is able to take a considerable beating before being taken down. When Worf attacked a Breen with a blow that could normally fell a Nausicaan, the Breen was unfazed. It then successfully zapped him with its neural truncheon. ( ) :It is possible this toughness was due, in part, to the Breen's armor rather than its physiology. The Breen constantly wear refrigeration suits in order to maintain a cold temperature like that on their homeworld. According to Worf, no one had ever seen what a Breen looked like under their refrigeration suits and lived. Even after joining the Dominion, their appearance was unknown to their new allies. Weyoun couldn't help but wonder what they looked like. ( ) :Although it is often stated throughout the franchise that the Breen homeworld is a "frozen wasteland", Weyoun claimed the planet had a temperate climate, leaving one to wonder if the suits they wear are in fact to keep them cool. ( ) However, the Cardassian Union was known at times to keep an embassy on the Breen planet, giving Cardassians knowledge of that world, and they did describe it as extremely cold. ( ) Quark even compared Odo to being as "cold as a Breen winter". ( ) Society and Culture The Breen commonly produce offspring at a very early age. The Breen entertain their offspring with nursery rhymes. Breen nursery rhymes can be made up of a heterophonic, five-line verse with an alternating tetrameter and pentameter structure. These are nonsensical phrases strung together because they rhyme (at least to the Breen). Some Breen music, which can accompany these nursery rhymes, is written on a Lyxian scale. ( ; ) :It is unknown if this means a young average age for known humanoid species, or if the Breen have children at an age that would be considered young among Breen. Treatment of Prisoners The Breen are known to use slave labor; and at least some of these slaves are captured in raids on other species. When the Breen were using Bajorans slaves to mine dilithium ore, there are always at least eight guards within the mines. ( ) The Breen are very prudent when dealing with prisoners. When capturing prisoners, the Breen typically stun them from long range with their distruptors, rather than approaching them and risking close combat. When Worf and Ezri Dax were discovered by the Breen on Goralis while sleeping, the Breen used this technique to subdue them. The Breen feed their prisoners a diet of algae paste, as well as hang them upside down to ensure they cannot escape. ( ) On board starships, the Breen typically send in three guards at a time when they wish to remove a single prisoner from a cell that is being shared with other prisoners. Worf's various attempts at escape always failed, including his attempt to persuade the Breen guards that Ezri was sick, as well as his attempt to short-circuit the door. When Worf attempted to attack the Breen guards, they used a type of neural truncheon to paralyze him. Even after he fell to the ground, partially paralyzed, two Breen guards continued to use the truncheons on him to ensure he would not get back up, before two guards removed Ezri from the cell. In another incident, Worf simply showed signs of anger towards Weyoun and was again shocked by the neural truncheon. ( ) To extract information from captives, the Breen use cortical implants, despite the severe pain and damage it causes to the recipient. ( ) Language See: Breen language Science and Technology Given that most known humanoid species live on class M planets with an average temperature far above the supposed temperature of Breen, the Breen are largely thought to have had to develop refrigeration suits in order to co-exist with others. However, if the Breen homeworld is temperate as suggested by Weyoun, then their reason for wearing environmental suits, if they were environmental suits at all, was much more mysterious. ( ) :It should be noted that while Weyoun suggested the planet to have a more temperate climate, this may be a misguided opinion, as most other Alpha Quadrant species have suggested the Breen planet to be frozen over. It may also however be a testament to the Breen's counter-intelligence. The Breen were known for their knowledge of sophisticated cold-storage units, summed up in Captain Sisko's statement, "If anyone knows how to keep things cold, it's the Breen." ]] During the 2360s, the Breen were known for their development of organic technology, which they employed in the construction of their spacecraft. ( ) Some of their vessels were even known to be fitted with cloaking devices. ( ) During the mid-2370s, Breen warships utilized energy dampening weapons. ( , et al.) The Breen were known to use type 3 disruptors, like the Romulans and Klingons. ( ) The Breen also manufactured a portable hand-held cannon, the CRM 114. It was designed to target moving objects and surface emplacements. It was among the weapons dealt by the Ferengi arms dealer Gaila in the mid-2370s. ( ) The Breen made use of memory probing technology in the form of cortical implants and neural truncheons for subduing prisoners. ( ) Individuals * Gor * Pran * List of unnamed Breen Planets * Breen * Dozaria * Portas V Appendices Appearances * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *VOY: "Flesh and Blood" (hologram) Background *Although it is impossible to tell the gender of the Breen, Cathy Debuono was one person to wear one of the suits. Todd Slayton and Wade Kelly also wore the Breen costumes. *The model for the Breen helmet seems to be inspired by the Ubese Bounty Hunter suit that Princess Leia wore to Jabba the Hutt's Palace in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It has been speculated that this was intended as a tribute to Star Wars' 15th anniversary, though it should be noted that both the Breen and Boushh are very similar to the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. *In Norwegian, the word breen means the glacier. *Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr has said that the Breen's distinctive, scratchy voice was inspired by the guitar feedback on Lou Reed's album "Metal Machine Music". External Links *The Breen System Category:Species de:Breen es:Breen fr:Breen nl:Breen